Influence of National Health Screening Program on All-Cause Mortality in Korea Analysis of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, 2006–2014

BACKGROUND: To investigate the impact of national health screening on all-cause mortality risk, aged over 45.METHODS: Data from Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging 2006–2014 were assessed. A total of 10,254 participants were included at baseline, and survival rate was assessed biennially. Using cox proportional hazards model, the effect of health screening on mortality risk was investigated. Covariates were gender, depression, education, marital status, co-habitants, house income, social engagement, economic satisfaction, private health insurance, residence location, chronic diseases, and health behaviors (smoking, alcohol intake, regular exercise).RESULTS: At baseline 2006, 54.4% of participants didn't undergo health screening. A hazard ratio (HR) for mortality risk of non-participants were 1.36 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–1.53) after adjusting age and gender. Adding marital status and co-habitants to model 1 as covariates, HR was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.18–1.50) (model 2). Adding depression scores and socioeconomic vulnerabilities to model 2, HR was 1.29 s (95% CI, 1.14–1.45) (model 3). Adding chronic diseases to model 3, HR was 1.26 (95% CI, 1.14–1.48) (model 4). Finally, health behaviors have been added to model 4, HR was 1.24 (95% CI, 1.10–1.40) (model 5). In addition, the mortality risk increased as the cumulative number of missing health screenig increased accordingly.CONCLUSION: Health screening was an independent factor to reduce mortality risk. Therefore, active encouragement to participate the health screening should be implemented to reduce all-cause mortality.

The Influence of Negative Mental Health on the Health Behavior and the Mortality Risk: Analysis of Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging from 2006 to 2014 / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that negative mental health increases risky health behavior and mortality risk. We investigated the relationship between mental health and health behavior, and the causal association between mental health and mortality risk. METHODS: We used data from the 8-year (2006–2014) Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging with a cohort of 10,247 individuals (whom we divided into a younger group aged <65 years and an older group aged ≥65 years). Mental health was assessed with the following factors: depression, social engagement, and satisfaction of life. Health behavior was assessed with smoking, alcohol use, and regular exercise. Mortality risk was calculated using survival status and survival months as of 2014. Multiple logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard analysis were performed. RESULTS: Negative mental health was associated with current smoking and sedentary life style, but not with alcohol consumption. In addition, it was associated with an increase in all-cause mortality risk. The increase in mortality risk in the highest quartile (vs. lowest) was 1.71 times (hazard ratio [HR], 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–2.62) and 2.07 times (HR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.60–2.67) for the younger and older group, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results show that mental health affects health behavior and mortality risk. A key inference from this study is that improving mental health can lead to positive changes in health behavior and reduce the risk of mortality.